Andrew Newton reviews Dredd Urban Warfare…
Based in the world of the cult hit movie DREDD, this collection continues the story of Judges Dredd and Anderson in the dark post-apocalyptic city of Mega-City One. Includes the official DREDD prequel story,Top of the World Ma-Ma! by Matt Smith and Henry Flint.
Put your hands up if you have seen the Dredd film? No, not the Stallone version I mean the Karl Urban version (hence the title). Now, who enjoyed it and thought it was a good portrayal of Dredd and life in Mega City 1? If you are one of the millions who did then this is the comic book for you.
To start with we get a good bit of back story of the film’s antagonist, Ma-Ma. Her life before she gained power is one to be pitied and you actually find yourself cheering for her when she starts fighting back. Although this is a short part of the story it nonetheless is enjoyable to see the backstory.
With Ma-Ma’s backstory out of the way we come to the next storyline titled Underbelly. Set in the aftermath of the drug, Slo-mo’s disappearance, a new drug has taken its place and it is one that exploits mutants and the powers that some have. Dredd joins up with Psi Judge Anderson in order to find the source of the new drug and those responsible.
Finally, our last story sees Dredd facing riots, robots and bent Judges in Uprising. A ruthless corporation is wanting to push the down and out further down whilst providing new living accommodation for Mega City 1’s rich. To what limits will they go to ensure the new tower block is built?
All three stories are typical Dredd fayre. They are dark, gritty, grim and violent. Dredd is his usual stoney faced self (would we expect anything else?). Arthur Wyatt and Matt Smith have done a great job conveying the Dredd (and his world) of the film into the comic book and it’s good to see a lot of dialogue used to explain some of the things going on, and believe me there is a lot going on.
Henry Flint and Paul Davidson have done a great job with the artwork and have captured the dirtiness of Mega City 1 and its citizens. The Judges look just like their film counterparts and thankfully, Dredd still looks like Dredd (ain’t nothing gonna make that man laugh). In short, their artwork is the perfect complement to the script.
This is a great graphic novel, the perfect complement to the film and a great continuation to Hollywood’s Mega City 1. It’s certainly worth a read for any Dredd fan.
Andrew Newton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqtW2LRPtQY&list=PL18yMRIfoszFJHnpNzqHh6gswQ0Srpi5E&feature=player_embedded
Originally published February 13, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
